memphis. back was broken by a bunch of thug cops who hated unions. now, all i want to say to those guys there are a lot of you out there who have done remarkable work for the workers in the country. do not take what you heard here. it's not people who understand all your history. there is no reason to have to. >> greg: you can bring that up to negate any criticism of the union to commit violence against innocent people. well done. >> eric: we have to go. that is if it for "the five." thank you for watching. >> dana: on that note. >> greg: unbelievable. >> bret: good evening. i'm bret baier. this is a fox news alert. tonight, michigan, the home of the american automobile industry, state that has been dominated by big labor unions, is now a right to work state. michigan's republican governor has just signed a bill in to law ending union ability to force workers to pay dues. february they are not in the

union. democrats are predicting a warning of blood in the streets. here is what the governor said moments ago about why he supported the legislation. >> for two strong reasons. first of all, worker choice. the freedom to choose. and the concept of more and better jobs for our state. i think it was a good thing to sign the legislation and move forward. >> bret: this makes michigan the 24th right to work state in the u.s. let's get an update now from the michigan capital. correspondent mike tobin is live in lansing. good evening. >> good evening, bret. what you can't see tonight in darkness is a column of state troopers surrounding the for's office building. they are armed with baton and wearing riot gear. from behind that column of protection, governor snyder made his announcement that michigan is now a right to work state. >> you put your hands on me, see what happens. >> as the demonstrations get raucous in lansing, tent for

the group americans for prosperity is knocked down. >> they rushed the tent. chanting "go home, go home, scabs, scabs, scabs." they trampled the tent. people were inside. >> then they went after the cameras of journalists recording what happened. [bleep] >> the camera. >> i have a right to do this. >> finally, michigan state troopers armed with baton, tear gas and gas masks calmed the situation. demonstrators came from all over michigan and neighboring states. united auto worker, teamsters, brotherhood of ewhether he can tri call workers and school teachers. the school district reports 750 staffers called in sick and schools were closed. this is a fight that the michigan governor, republican rick snyder said he did not want. he says he warned labor proponents against an effort called proposition two. which would have enshrineed selective bargaining rights in the michigan constitution. that ballot issue failed in the november election. >> what continued after that is start of the discussion

right to work. >> it became a loud and boisterous discussion. so i felt at times in terms of the good leadership to say i didn't want it on my agenda now. it's here. >> demonstrators say working men and women are the subject of political retribution. >> retribution for standing up and fighting for working people. they want to us attack the different groups. they attack us. >> right to work legislation would outlaw the mandatory union due and membership as a condition of employment. even for those not joining the union. similar measure passed in indiana in 2012. unemployment decreased. the top seven states in the u.s. with the lowest unemployment are among the 23 current right to work states. >> when you look at the issue, it's really about being pro-choice for workers. giving them the opportunity to have the freedom to choose. it's about the job creation. >> republicans have a majority in the house and the senate. >> tab democratic leadership agrees nothing will stop michigan, cradle of organized labor and birthplace of the united auto workers from

becoming a right to work state. all opponents can do is let their anger be heard. >> ladies and gentlemen, the governor of michigan a greedy nerd and a weak geek. we're not going to take it anymore. >> bob king, president of the auto workers was vague when pressed on what the next move will be for the unions and the democrats in michigan. it's clear they want to explore the legal options and throw the channels at this law in court. they want to set the sights on the next election. >> bret: big news. mike tobin live in lansing. thank you. president obama is vehemently against the michigan right to work law. he spoke against it yesterday near detroit. earlier today, the republicans accused the president of deliberately delaying talks to get the country office call cliff. late this afternoon, word of a new offer from the president. an g.o.p. counter offer. we have been told the president and the house speaker boehner spoke on the

phone moments ago. chief white house correspondenthead entry has the update. good evening. is that promising? >> some promising signs tonight. i confirmed what you mention about the phone call today. late today between the president and the speaker. that followed what i'm told by the senior officials of what is a better than has been reported face to face meeting on sunday when the president and speaker got together for the hush-hush meeting here that it went better. on monday, the president put a new offer on the table to lower the tax increase from $1.6 trillion to $1.4 trillion. then the speaker late today put a counter offer on the table so in profit making progress. in public still no deal. >> leaders in both parties today sounded increasingly pessimistic about getting a deal before christmas. >> the american people have to be scratching their heads, and wondering when is the president going to get serious? >> when w senate democratic leader harry reid charging the real problem is infighting among speaker john boehner

leadership team over whether the republicans will support tax rate increases. >> the speaker has to make an important decision. whether he is going to save his speakership, or the country. >> senate republican mitch mcconnell fired back that president obama can't get fellow democrats to back real spending cuts. >> we with r running out of time. time to to see if the president is willing to cut any spending at all. >> ia carney held up the president's budget plan again. >> it's not a mystery. we have seen this before. this is the document that contains the specific spending cuths. >> except in that budget, the president includes $100 billion in medicaid cuts. that would have come from shifting more costs to states. yet; just yesterday the department of health and human services revealed it no longer supports those cuts. because the supreme court landmark healthcare decision allows states to opt out of the new laws medicate expansion. when carney was pressed today on how to white house will make up the spending cut, he

hedged minutes after demanding more specifics from bane baun on taxes. >> i have to get you more -- see if we have more specifics for you. >> this comes a the white house thinks the heavy pressure from the fellow democrats who today demanded no cuts to any of the health entitlement programs. >> we are not budging on medicare or medicaid. >> they were joined by the labor leaders who got a boost yesterday firing up a union crowd in michigan. >> they are talking about giving you the right to work for less money. >> after the angry clash in the state with a lawmaker warning there will be blood if the right to work legislation is signed in to law. carney urged calm. >> the president believes in, you know, t debate that is zil. >> tonight, advisors to the president privately say they think that speaker boehner is publicly complaining about the need for more spending cuts to show his fellow republicans he

is pushing hard for their priorities. but in private, he is moving closer and closer to a deal. we'll see, even if there is a framework in the next 24 hours or so between the president and speaker. it has to get through the house and senate. that is a big chore. >> bret: long way to go. ed henry live on the north lawn. producers work it up on capitol hill. more with the panel later. dow was in positive territory for fifth straight day today. the industrial average gained 78.5. the s&p 500 was up nine. the nasdaq finished ahead 35. big money is coming and going tonight in washington. while the fed is making a tidy out.it on a controversial about to send that and more out the door. to pump up the economy. >> the financial crisis has a tidy profit for taxpayers. they sold the last remaining

shares of insurance giant a.zig today. the company nearly collapsed in 2008 after making risky financial bet. the treasury and the federal reserve came to the rescue, taking it over and backing it with $182 billion. avenue self-ing off the last shares treasury reported $5 billion profit on the bail-out. the federal reserve made $17.7 billion. but the fed won't be parking its cash. it's holding a two-day policy meeting and it is expected to announce tomorrow it will continue to keep interest rates low. but it wants to get them especially lower. for mortgages, car loan and business loan. it is expected to expand one of the major stimulus programs known as quantitative easing. it will buy more treasury bonds from banks and investors for cash. extra $40 billion or so a month. the fed hopes it will create more jobs.

>> even though unemployment ticked down there is a reserve of people discouraged not looking for work. >> economy says for the fed, the extra stimulus is an insurance policy for the economy. in case washington falls office call cliff? >> thank you. >> tonight, we have more on the rapid expansion of federal payroll. >> congratulations. >> president obama has been president for 1,421 days.

it means they have hired 95 new employees per day, every day of his presidency. >> transferred from the private sector to the public sector. that is net for the economy. they have to be paid. they are paid well. large mentions. so that exacerbates the problem with the deficit. >> era of big government is over. >> that famous declaration came toward the end of the first term where president clinton slashed the federal workforce by 14%. executive branch and created the department of homeland security and nearly 80,000 workers for a jump of 4.2%. despite the 7% increase over president obama's first term, the white house said he is committed to a leaner federal government in his second. but press secretary jay carney could only point to one fairly limited initiative to accomplish that.

>> the president has put forward proposal to streamline and reorganize the variety of agencies that deal with commerce in the federal government. exports. >> the obama era in terms of the government hiring proved less kind to the states. from january 2009 through last month, according to bureau of labor statistics, the number of the state employees declineed by 120,000 or little over 2%. >> bret: thank you. up next. the president's defense secretary backs away from words about syria and chemical weapons.

>> bret: the pentagon top man says syria appears to have slowed the preparation to use chemical weapons against opposition forces. some of those forces may not exactly be friendly to the u.s. national security correspondent jennifer griffin has the latest.

>> hours after the state department declared a syrian faction terrorist organization, members of the syrian opposition announced the group known as al musria played integral role to help overtake key stronghold, large military base in aleppo. it's a front group for al-qaeda in iraq. demonstrating the complexity of the syrian war and u.s. reluctance to get involved in the inability to ignore. today, leon panetta backed off suggestions the syrians were making preparations to use chemical weapons. >> the intelligence leveled off. we haven't seen anything new indicating any aggressive ste steps to move forward in that way. >> pentagon never officially acknowledged the intelligence report that the components for the nerve gas had been mixed. the u.s. officials would not give specifics about where the weapons were allegedly being prepared. panetta who is visiting kuwait

had a different explanation, suggesting that president bashar assad changed his mind. >> i like to believe he got the message. we made it clear and others have as well. >> go back now. maybe that is people who realize that this is not the way to go. >> the white house reiterated the u.s. did not provide weapons to the syrian opposition. >> the opposition on providing lethal aid has not changed. >> they are concerned about the arm swelling in jihadists among rebels in syria like what happened in libya. >> we have in mind shaping the post assad environment. to look to libya and the resurgence of al-qaeda there. especially what happened in benghazi. >> the obama administration is expected to recognize the fragmented syrian opposition in morocco.

>> prosecutors say two alabama men arrested on terrorism violence wanted to wage violence overseas. one captured in bus terminal in augusta, georgia, and the other was taken in atlanta attempting to board a flight. judge said the would-be suicide bombers and spend ten years in prison. prosecutors say mazri wanted to become a fighter for al-qaeda and al shabab terror groups. he was arrested 2010. the head of egypt main association of judges say 90% of the members voted not to oversee the saturday constitutional referendum. senior foreign affairs greg palkot reports people are not waiting until the election to make their feelings known. >> it's another tense night in cairo. supporters, won'ts of mohammed morsi are taking to the streets. critics of the president and the planned referendum on

saturday of a new draft constitution gather outside the presidential palace. to try to tear down barriers. >> the protest will not end. >> there is a large pro-morsi gathering a week ago when they slashed. leighing many dead and danger while the authorities stood by. they fired in crowd of protesters. several were injured. "they attacked us from all directions. they randomly fired from all directions." the critics called it discriminatory. and say this is rim in addition sent of form -- reminiscent of hosni mubarak. they say he was elected democratically and protecting what is built by the

revolution. morsi's government had to postpone request for imf for much-needed $4.8 million loan. "we need to hang to the dispute" said the prime minister, "in order to bring stabilization to this countr country." egypt military is calling for a national unity meeting to calm things down. morsi's muslim brotherhood said it will attend. opposition hasn't decided whether it is going to show up. bret? >> bret: greg palkot live in cairo. thank you. the state department has confirmed that an american citizen is being held in north korea. spokeswoman victoria nullen said the u.s. government is working through sweden that funnels request to authorities in north korea. still ahead -- exactly where are the $1 trillion in spending cuts the democrats are talking about? first, will hillary clinton be on the top of the democratic ticket in 2016? this holiday, share everything.

share "not even close." share "you owe me..." share "just right." the share everything plan. shareable data across 10 devices with uimited talk and text. by htc for $49.99.

so we created the extraordinarily comfortable sleep number experience. around a bed with dualair technology that allows you to adjust to the support your body needs - each of your bodies. our sleep professionals will help you find your sleep number setting. exclusively at a sleep number store. sleep number. comfort individualized. this holiday season, give the gift that's magical: the innovative airfit adjustable pillow at special 30% savings.

>> bret: as we mentioned she is under the weather now because of the flu but secretary hillary clinton is on top of everyone's list of 2016 presidential contenders. chief political correspondent carl cameron tells us why. >> with her popularity soaring, so too are calls for another clinton white house campaign in 2016. five-minute video of farewells and kudos as she winds down her tenure as secretary of state is filled with the obvious encouragement from the world leaders. >> if someone knows thing or two about the political comebacks i don't think we have seen the last of hillary clinton. >> instinct. the best is yet to come. >> stomach flu cost clinton to

cancel this week's overseas travel. she will be 69 in 2016, same age that ronald reagan was when he was elected president. she has a 60% favorable rating in the latest battleground poll. ahead of vice president joe biden by double digits. among republicans, paul ryan is viewed favorably with 47%, followed by jeb bush and florida u.s. senator marco rubio. clinton is expected to take a year to rest and reflect. d.c. super lawyer met her and told sher she would be the first female president doesn't seem the slowdown lasting. >> can i manual her doing it for a long period of time in absolutely not. she a public service driven person. we talk about the public service. >> juggernaut front runner 2007 and beaten by obama in 2008. she has no problem to raise money. according to newt gingrich that will be the super bowl and the republican party today

is incapable of competing at thatlep. governor andrew cuomo of new york hopes to compete at that level and made no secret of the interest of running for president. but steers clear of discussing clinton. >> no doubt she is incredibly popular and experience and speculation about the political future. she is the person who will make the decision. >> 61% of the likely democratic primary voters favor clinton as the 2016 nominee. more than three times biden and cuomo combined. in addition to cuomo and biden, maryland governor o'malley and mark warner, montana governor brian switzer and the massachusetts governor patrick eyeing a white house run. among the 15 to 20 republicans looking for a run in four years all of them know at one point or a they will be judgeed by how well they match up against clinton. >> bret: there is time, carl. there is time. >> not for them. >> bret: okay. thanks.

court in texas ordered a temporary halt to work on an oil pipeline from canada to gulf coast. private landowner says transcanada intends to carry tar sand oil not crude oil in the pipeline claiming it amounts to fraud. company says the other courts ruled it's transporting crude oil. the project remains on schedule. one official says flames shot up to 75 feet high after a natural gas pipeline exploded this afternoon in west virginia. four homes were burned down. five others extensively damaged. the heat was so intense firefighters could not get close. stretch of interstate 77 was closed. no injuries have been reported beyond minor spoke inhalation. a leading spokesman for capitalism sings praises for communism. and michigan teachers take the dayoff in protest, or many think so.

how well are students learning? grapevine is next. a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis sympto. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benets with theisks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease risk factors suh as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions

or stomach a intestine problems, such as bleeding and cers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the eldey are at incrsed risk for stoch bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help rightway if you have swelng of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion.

>> bret: now some fresh pickings from the political grapevine one of the president's top says communism works. jeffrey immelt is chairman of the president's council on jobs and competitiveness. he said during a broadcast interview today about china going to a more consumer based economy quote the one thing that actually works state run communism. it may not be your cup of tea,

but their government works. what they are doing makes sense. chrysler has been forced to rehire employees caught drinking and possibly smoking marijuana during a lunch break. the fox affiliate in detroit took this video in 2010. 13 workers were fired and go suspended. the union-backed arbitration process ordered them reinstated. they came back to work this week. chrysler says it does not agree with the decision, but it's time to move on. and hundreds of michigan teachers called in sick or took vacation days today. most were believed to be participating in union protests against michigan's right-to-work legislation now law. that we told you about earlier in the program. at least two entire school districts had to shut down today. meanwhile the department of education is giving michigan students he some very poor grades. it says 72% of public school eighth graders are not proficient in reading and 69% are not proficient in math.

math is at the center of our next story. democrats are claiming they have already voted to take a trillion-dollar bite out of the budget deficit through spending cuts. tonight, correspondent doug mckelway tells us whether that claim really adds up. >> we're still waiting for the white house to identify what spending cuts the president is willing to make. >> yet again today, republicans asked where is the democrats' end of the bargain. they accused democrats of ignoring the spending side of the negotiations. accusation democrats object. >> the president signed into law a million trillion dollars spending cuts. >> spending cuts we have already made. >> the democrats have already voted for over a trillion dollars in cuts in spending. >> but are those cuts real? this cbo letter from speaker boehner from july of 2011 confirms that democrats agreed to reduced budget deficit by $915 billion between 2012 and

2021 as part of the budget control act of 2011. there is a very big catch. the reductions were, quote, relative to baseline projections. baseline projections or baseline budgeting is what critics call a washington accounting gimmick. it raises spending every year by factoring in inflation and population increases. >> pretended to cut spending using the washington definition meaning that spending doesn't rise as fast as it was going to. they also had a tremendously gimmick where they claimed the trillion dollars of savings roughly for not fighting two wars in iraq and afghanistan. for another 10 years. >> conservative columnist george will wrote that those alleged savings from not fighting future wars is quoting hundred billion by deciding not to build a ski resort on mars. further there is dispute offer there weather those trillion dollars in cuts agreed to last year are actually taking place. >> there are different two different conversations going on about these numbers. one is is about the cuts already embedded in law which is evidently what nancy pelosi

was talking about and they are absolutely embedded in law and there is no question about them. >> the problem with that is that congress has done nothing to put legislation in place to cut spending to meet those caps. and that's one of the reasons that we're now in the fiscal cliff. >> baseline budgeting has been used by both parties since 1974. allows republicans to exaggerate claims of frugality. allows democrats to expand the growth of government. either way accounting trick that no family tried to balance its checkbook could ever get away with. bret? >> bret: british bank sbc has agreed to pay money to settle a money laundering case. the justice department in the u.s. says the bank cleaned funds for narcotics traffickers in mexico and allowed illegal transactions with iran, cuba, and other nations. michigan becomes a right-to-work state with some fireworks outside the state capitol. we'll talk about what's going on with the fox all-stars when we come back. begin.

tomato, obviously. haha. there's more than that though, there's a kick to it. wahlalalalallala! smooth, but crisp. it's kind of like drinking a food that's a drink, or a drink that's a food, woooooh! [ male announcer ] taste it and describe the indescribable. could've had a v8.

>> no matter what happens, they cannot define us. >> what we shouldn't be doing is trying to take away your rights to bargain for better wages and working. [cheers] >> what we're talking about is giving you the right to work for less money. we don't want a race to the bottom. we want a race to the top. [shouting] >> for two very strong reasons first of all worker choice the freedom to choose and the concept of more and better jobs for our state. i think it was a good thing to sign this legislation and move forward. i'm excited to he seat outcome from that. >> bret: michigan is now the 24th state in the united states to become a right-to-work state. the home of the automobile industry is now a right-to-work state. it is hard to believe. the democrats there in michigan believe this is all

an effort to kill the unions throughout the midwest, throughout the u.s. the republican governor says it's an effort to save his state financially. an economist we talked to who has been looking at the history of right-to-work states said this about the evidence. >> of the top 10 performing states in the past 20 years, nine, the top nine were all right-to-work states. the 10th state was washington. the state of washington. washington is not a right-to-work state or a freedom to work state but it doesn't tax individual income nor does it tax corporate income. and so they have been able to perform at a very high level because of giving people those freedoms. >> went on to say that the 10 worst performing states in the country in the last 20 years none of them were right-to-work states all of them taxed individual income and corporate income. let's bring in our panel

there. tucker carlson editor of the daily caller.com. a.b. stoddard associate editor of the hill and syndicated columnist charles krauthammer. charls? >> look. this is an adjustment to reality. the fact is that, you know, in the glory days the 40s, 50s, 60's. the uaw was able to give its workers the hayest wages benefits in the world. that was because of an anomaly that we were only industrial country that came out of second world war intact. europe was on its knees. germany and japan were rubble so we thought that was the natural order of things. it wasn't. and when the other industrial countries recovered we got world competition as we have. we ran into bankruptcies. chrysler now twice. we see that in the southern states where the transplants are without the unions. they weren't the ones who went bankrupt last -- in 2008 and 2009. so it really is a choice. it's a tough choice. and i sympathize with the unions but the fact is that in

the global economy where you have to compete on wages and other elements, of the units of production, can you either have, you know, high wages with low employment or you can, as obama would say, spread around the wealth. the fact is that in the right-to-work states, unemployment is 6.9%. >> we have a graphic that shows right-to-work vs. non-right to work statements on employment, go ahead. >> and in the other stays the non-right-to-work it's 8.7. so you can choose to have fewer workers who enjoy higher inflated unnatural, if you like, wangs on uncompetitive wages. or competitive wages and more people employed. more people with the dignity of a job and less unemployment. more taxation and more activity. i think it's it the right choice but i understand how it's a wrenching choice. >> a.b.? >> i agree with charles. i think the writing is really on the wall. and as the economy has weakened, the right to work

movement has strengthened and governor snyder particularly saw the success and the job growth that resulted from the changes in indiana. other states that especially there. and changed his mind. i think as states are aggressively looking to attract business, this is only going to be a trend that continues. and, of course, democrats are upset about the process. politics is the art of the protests says cease processes how someone was snuckerred, aggressive effort on the side of the unions to get this reversed. but it really is going to happen in more and more surprising places, michigan might be the most surprising because it's about moving companies to your state and they are looking for places with more freedom and that's going to be the template. >> as can you imagine, democrats pushed back hard. they say this is a power grab by this republican governor who they feel didn't tell the truth to them before.

said he wasn't going to do this but changed as you mentioned. they also said this exemption for police and fire unions, why would you have that exemption if you believed truly across the board that right-to-work was the right thing for your state? >> well, i think he has changed his mind and when you are looking to attract work to your state. you are taking a lot into account. i think he probably had a personal belief that he should make those exemptions. but it's clear what he is after. he is after new business. >> i don't think you can overstate how powerful a moment this is. i mean, michigan isn't just a state with a lot of union members. arguably the birthplace of the labor unit jimmy hoffa a state barack obama won by almost 10 points last month. nor to happen is the vic trif the better argument. hard to look right in the camera and say people ought to be required to pay dues to a union they are not a member of in order to have a job. what's the counter argument?

there really isn't one. i would say that obama is progressive on a lot of issues. this i them. this is an issue in which he is really antique in his views. is he decades old o. you can argue that unions help individuals, they do. but it comes to the great cost. you cannot argue that unions make organizations better. if they did the marine corps would have a union. if you are really about a task it's not unionized shop period. so i think by the way this sin evident tillable but this is not the battleground. the last thing i would say is that the battleground is the pluck sector unions. they have five times as many by a factor of five union membership is on the public biblical employee side. working for the people who gather the tax dollars to pay them. it's a closed deal. i think that's the real battleground. private sector unions are dying any way because the agencies that sustain them are dying. >> bret: he went out there and it's important to point out in wisconsin back and forth and scott walker and the recall effort he didn't weigh. >> in that's right.

>> but he did this week in michigan. he went to detroit. he gave that speech, there was really firing up the base, it seemed, he said they are talking about giving you the right to work for less money. if you look at the comparison of wages, annual wages comparison, right-to-work states 42465 non-right-to-work states, 49495. that's bureau of labor statistics 2010. what about the president's involvement here and what the message was that he was sending by getting out there. >> considering the centrallality. i think it anemic effort there is a lot of reason to think there is a split. pluck sector unions support the president and he needs their support. private sector remember a lot of them boycotted the democratic convention they didn't work on card check hard enough. i think a lot of union members

are mad at the president. >> i think the graph shows that it is a symbol of tradeoff. you can have higher inflated wages with a lot more people unemployed or you can spread the wealth and spread the employment. and i think the argument is that there is an interesting argument on principle about the freedom of choice. you know, democrats famously call themselves pro-choice. that's only about aborting a fetus. when it comes to choosing a public school for your child they are not in favor of that. when it comes to choosing whether you should be forced into a union or not they are not in favor. it's a rather problematic and i would say unilateral claim to be pro-choice. >> bret: next up, are we finally getting some movement, some movement away from the fiscal cliff? we will look at that.

>> now, if the president doesn't agree with our approach, he has got an obligation to put forward a plan that can pass both chambers of the commerce. because right now the american people have to be scratching their heads and wondering when is the president going to get serious. >> he has said that he is not wedded to every detail in this plan. and that he understands that a compromise requires all sides to accept something short of the ideal. and he is committed to doing that. what we haven't seen from republicans to this day is a single specific proposal on revenue. we can get things done quickly. i think it's going to be extremely difficult to get it done before christmas but it could be done. >> sights and sounds of the cliff. that's what we will call it today. and just moments ago, president obama told abc, quote: i'm pretty confident that republicans would not

hold middle class taxes hostage to try and protect tax cuts for high income individuals. he says, i don't think they will do that, he says, i remain optimistic. i would like to see a big package but the most important thing we could k. do to make sure taxes don't go up january 1st. i this the the tone is good and he thinks a deal still can get done. we're back with the panel. on michelle abounds, a.b. >> well, white house they hold the cards in this tax rate debate on the republican side although the house speaker always comes off, i think as infinitely reasonable in his presentations, it's getting pretty frustrating. the feeling in the back room and in these discussions between the speaker and the president is as the president indicated about his optimism, yes, the republicans are going to bend on revenue or rates. probably rates. but they are not going to december 11th. to admit it now they would have to have something in

exchange. so when the president says show us your entitlement reform. show us your spending cuts, the republicans are in a corner where they can't say well for this we would ask this because they don't want to say we would raise taxes. but they are probably going to do it on december 30th. the president knows that. it's up to him really if he wants to lead on this and not jump over the cliff which republicans suspect he does. he would have to really come over with a real middle of the road offer that would allow the republicans a win when they take the hit for the tax increases. he is not doing that. the number today went from 1.6 to 1.4. it was a meaningless difference. people i spoke to today on the republican side very frustrated tonight by what they sees a a big talk on sunday that was going well but when it got down to the paperwork again everything was still the same. >> bret: when we say 1.6 trillion to 1.4 we are talking about revenues, tax increases that the white house is looking for. on the spending cuts side, democrats keep talking, tucker, about $1 trillion that's already been cut.

>> yeah. >> bret: we explained this about baseline budgeting and just really quickly, a friend from heritage explained it pretty well so we thought we would play it quickly. >> baseline budgeting let me define it first before we get into the falsehoods in there is the building of a projection being of spending based on what were you are currently doing. so, i'm currently building a house. i could -- under baseline budgeting, i could budget the same amount for building that house for each year of the next 10 years. that would be baseline budgeting. people say that's crazy. you build your house one year. that's it. not every year thereafter. what this does is it permanently builds in higher spending. >> and then you cut and you call it a cut. >> you cut money and never spend. yeah. i think it's pretty hard for democrats to credibly argue that they're planning big

cuts. on the other hand, it's very difficult for republicans to win a debate they have allowed opponents to define. it's not at all clear why the speaker in the house doesn't say here are the cuts we would like. also not clear why they weren't laying this predicate six months ago taking this case to the pluck for why we have to curtail the growth of medicare or go bankrupt. it's not too late. they could win this argument. the president doesn't want to win on that. they don't want to cut single sector employee. they vote for him and he doesn't want to cut entitlements. they are taking a strict no entitlement position. they could highlight entans isn't trans. >> it's late in the game to win the argument. what you have to do is emerge with your trousers still on. boehner handed over his sword. it's clear the republicans with all the desense among them are ready to raise rates. that's probably going to happen. that's really a rubycon they

have to do it raising the eligibility age for medicare, changing the cost of living adjustment means testing. they get nothing. they cannot accept higher rates. if they get something from the president, which he is withholding now, i think that will give them a way to at least honorably hand over a sword but walk out still dressed. >> with their trousers? >> yes. >> that is it for a clothed panel. student for some things that make interviews more interesting than others on capitol hill. you won't take my life.

you won't take our future. aids affects us all. even babies. chevron is working to stop mother-to-child transmission. our employees and their families are part of the fight. and we're winning. at chevron nigeria, we haven't had a reported case in 12ears. aids is strong. aids is strong. but we are stronger. and aids... ♪ aids is going to lose. aids is going to lose. ♪

aids is going to lose. it's part of what you slove about her.essing.lose. but your erectile dysfunction - you know, that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting morehan four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away.

ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. >> finally tonight. sometimes interviews with lawmakers on capitol hill can be, well, dry. so you have to look to other interesting elements for them. tone, tenel nor, the look, the style, somebody else or this: